Relics

by K. T. Tomb

  The three men nodded their heads.

  “Well, these spirits are sort of like genies, or what the Arabs would call Jinn. With these Jinn, the objectives of LOKI can finally be realized and the new knowledge will be much more easily spread across the world. Got it?”

  He spread out the file and started drilling Demitri and Nicholi concerning the locations of things and the means of finding particular people who might lead them to the box. After a great deal of discussion, examination of the materials and knowledge of Corinth, Andriy had finally put together what he believed was a solid lead to follow.

  “We will rest until the sun sets and then we will find the man who has possession of the box or knows where it is located,” he announced. “We will not fail in this task. Is that clear?”

  “It is clear,” the other three repeated.

  Chapter Twelve

  “If the whole idea behind this is the fact that we don’t look like government agents, then having four men who look like they could chew iron and spit nails doesn’t…exactly…accomplish that goal now, does it?” Edwin countered.

  Edwin couldn’t believe he was arguing against taking the team of men, who had allowed him to feel a little bit more secure, along with them.

  “Then what purpose do we serve?” Kapnos argued.

  “You’ll serve no purpose at all if Edwin and I don’t appear to be a naive English couple in search of an artifact to take back from Greece on their honeymoon,” Danna countered.

  They’d decided to stick with the same characterization, minus their financier, which, in Edwin’s opinion, was a little over the top anyway.

  “And if you get yourselves into trouble?” Kapnos quizzed.

  “Then you can come in and save the day,” Danna replied.

  “What if there isn’t time?”

  “Then I’ve got Edwin,” she smiled, showing all of her perfectly straight white teeth at once. “Besides, I’ve been in some pretty tight spots before and gotten out just fine.”

  “But there’s always that one time…”

  “And when it comes, it will come. You can’t go in there with us. It will completely blow our cover.”

  There was a long pause while Kapnos stared at Danna and she, in turn, met his gaze with an equally stubborn challenge.

  “Fine,” Kapnos said in a low tone. “But we’ll set up just outside the area and keep an eye out for any bad guys coming in. I won’t accept no for an answer on that.”

  “That sounds fair,” Edwin jumped in. He desperately wanted that security backing them up.

  “Any hint of a problem and we’re going to come in there in a hurry, cover blown or not. Got it?”

  “Fine,” Danna responded.

  It was more than obvious that Danna had handled herself in plenty of sticky situations before. In fact, Edwin was pretty sure that he wouldn’t have been able to stare down Kapnos the way that she had. Though he had a strong sense of duty to protect her, something inside of him reinforced the fact that she could probably protect him just as well.

  “We’ll roll out of here in about an hour,” Kapnos said. “I want to drive past the place before it gets dark and then set up on the perimeter a little after sunset.”

  When Kapnos and the team left Edwin and Danna in the hotel room alone a few hours later, they slipped out onto the balcony and enjoyed the breeze blowing in off of the Gulf of Corinth.

  “I could get used to these Mediterranean breezes,” Edwin sighed, allowing the fresh salty air to wash over him.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Danna said.

  “Okay.”

  “Back in Athens, you said that there was more to it than just proving yourself to me. What did you mean by that?”

  “I meant it was something that I never thought I’d ever consider. When I joined you to come here and partake in our first adventure together, I’d been trying to prove myself. After I realized that someone was after the authentic box and could only want it for one great sinister purpose, it became something different. Though I am completely unsure of how to pull it off, I feel like I have a duty to mankind to see this through and keep that box out of the wrong hands.”

  Danna could only stare at his chiseled profile as he gazed straight ahead over the water of the gulf.

  “Besides,” he said, turning toward her and smiling, “I’ve gotten a taste of this action and adventure business. I’m afraid I might never be able to go back to being an accountant again.”

  “I’ve created a monster,” she laughed.

  “I’ve got one for you,” Edwin asked. “Why did you agree to go ahead with this?”

  “I’m afraid that I’ve been withholding a secret,” Danna replied.

  “Out with it, then.”

  “I’ve already had dealings with Tryfonas.”

  “That’s quite a secret. It might have been something that was handy to know before now, don’t you think?”

  “I didn’t really want Kapnos or anyone else to know that.”

  “But you and I might have discussed it in private.”

  Danna hesitated and then let out a sigh. “I really didn’t want to discuss it with you either, but since we’re about to go meet with him, you were going to know the truth anyway.”

  “Why do I have the feeling that there is something about what you’re about to tell me that I’m not going to like?”

  Danna decided that she needed to just charge forward with what she had to say. She needed to get it all out in the open. “You remember that Taavi said that I was already familiar with recovering some of the items related to the 1990 robbery?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, one of the people that I worked with in recovering those items was Tryfonas.”

  Edwin could sense that there was more to the story. “And?”

  “We sort of had a fling.” Danna hurried ahead. “It wasn’t much, really, mostly a way to let off some steam. It’s well behind me and all happened before I met you and my life changed so drastically—”

  “I get it,” Edwin interrupted. “I’m not foolish enough to think that you didn’t have boyfriends and flings before I came along.”

  “So, you’re okay with it? I didn’t want to keep it a secret, but I wasn’t sure how you were going to react.”

  There was an assault of emotions flooding through him, but he knew that none of them would serve any good purpose. They had a job to do and it needed to be done within the next few hours. They couldn’t waste any time worrying about his being jealous of some former lover.

  “Well then, dearest,” he smiled. “You and your monster better get a move on or we’ll be late for our appointment.”

  A little after sunset, Edwin and Danna were being let into the house of Tryfonas Karahalios, Junior. As they were led into the living room, both Edwin and Danna glanced up at the mantel and then shared a smile at their private joke. Pandora’s Box wasn’t sitting there.

  “Your call came as something of a surprise to me, Danna,” he said, as they were seated. He looked back and forth between Danna and Edwin uncomfortably. “Especially the part about you being on your honeymoon. I suppose congratulations are in order.”

  Edwin, in spite of trying to remain focused on the task at hand, couldn’t help watching the two of them interact, wondering if either would reveal that they still had feelings for the other. If there were any feelings, they were certainly doing an excellent job of hiding them. He forced himself to keep his mind on the real reason they were there.

  “Thank you,” Edwin and Danna replied at the same time.

  “I, uh, well, I might have some champagne. We could toast to…”

  “It’s quite alright, really,” Danna replied. “No need.”

  “It’s no trouble.”

  “Thank you, but no,” Danna replied. “We have something far more important to talk to you about.”

  “What is wrong?” Concern washed over his face and then was quickly replaced by a shadow of recognition. “T
his isn’t about what we discussed before, is it?”

  “It’s a good bit more serious, I’m afraid,” Edwin broke into the conversation.

  “It’s possible that your life might even be in danger,” Danna added.

  Edwin hadn’t considered that angle on things. Had Danna thought of that beforehand? Was that the real reason she had agreed to continue with the case; so she could protect him?

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Pandora’s Box?” Tryfonas asked, vaulting up out of his chair. “That thing is dangerous. Why would I have it? Why would I keep something like that? I know nothing about it.”

  He paced back and forth a few times in front of the chair and then tried to settle back into it casually. “I made a break away from all of this after I got out of prison. You know I did, Danna. I’ve even helped you repatriate other artifacts before. I truly know nothing about it.”

  A line from Hamlet popped into Edwin’s head as he watched Tryfonas. He’d been right about the man. Not that it was any surprise that a thief might also be a liar. He settled in to watch the show that was about to play out in front of him.

  There was no reason for jealousy of Tryfonas. If Danna did not already know the man’s true colors, then she was certainly a dolt, which she wasn’t. He had absolutely nothing to worry about.

  Though Danna could have called him on his obvious lie, she took a different tack.

  “We’re not here to accuse you of anything or even to suggest that you might have the box. But you know how dangerous it is and there are some bad people, very bad people, who want to get their hands on it. Anyone even remotely connected to it or who might have information about it could be in danger.”

  Reacting as much to her tone as to her words, Tryfonas slid forward in the chair.

  “How bad are we talking?”

  “LOKI,” Danna replied. She knew that, at one time, Tryfonas had his hand on the pulse of the world. Did he still have it there? She was putting it to the test by tossing the name out there. On the surface, LOKI and Peter Isaac were entirely harmless, but a person who truly knew what was going on would know that there was more to the League of Knowledge Integration that what was on the surface.

  “Jesus,” he breathed, slowly wiping his hand over his face.

  Neither Edwin nor Danna spoke; they just watched him. He was obviously considering whether holding onto the information that he had, or the box itself, was worth dying for. There was no need to press him.

  “Look,” he said, finally, looking around him as he spoke, though Edwin and Danna were the only other people in the room. “I don’t even know that the box is authentic. I never even considered opening it. We buried it and when I got out, I dug it up again.”

  “Where is it now, Tryfonas?” Danna asked.

  “It’s here,” he replied. “I’ve been considering burying it again or destroying it, but there is just something about it that keeps me from giving it up.”

  “Where is it, Tryfonas?” Edwin asked.

  “It’s behind a hidden panel underneath the hearth.” He nodded toward the fireplace.

  Edwin held back the smile that threatened to spread over his lips, though he was sure that his eyes twinkled with satisfaction. He’d been close, very close.

  Danna rose up from her seat on the sofa, went to the hearth and started running her hands over the stones.

  “It’s…” He stopped when Danna raised her hand to him.

  Solving the puzzle was part of the thrill that Danna got out of what she did. Edwin sat back and watched her, fascinated to observe her mind and hands at work. Within a few minutes, she had found the stone that was part of the secret panel, worked it free, reached into the cavity behind it and pulled out a box that was the exact replica of the box that they’d found before.

  “Very clever,” she smiled. “That would have fooled nearly anyone. However, I’m not just anyone.”

  Danna placed the box on the hearth and sat back down on the sofa, glancing at Edwin and winking.

  “I’m going to assume that the same arrangement as before will apply?” Tryfonas asked.

  “Not hardly. You’ll get to stay out of prison and might get to stay alive as well. How’s that grab you?”

  When Edwin heard that response, he knew that there was no simmering flame coming to life in Danna. Though he didn’t know what the previous arrangement had been, it was pretty clear that she was slamming the door shut on renewing it.

  The sound of glass breaking brought Tryfonas to his feet. “What the hell?”

  “Get down,” Danna screamed, vaulting backward over the sofa.

  Though a split second later than Danna, Edwin followed her lead, pulling the pistol from his waistband as he crawled over the back of the sofa, but not with nearly the same grace. He landed behind cover in time to see a round strike the wall behind where his head had just been. That single round was followed by more than a dozen more flying overhead and punching through the thinner portions of the sofa like angry hornets. He pressed his body into the floor.

  He’d played cops and robbers with his brother and friends growing up, but those had been imaginary bullets from which a person could fake a dramatic death and still go home for fish and chips later that night.

  The hail of bullets over their heads and into the sofa in front of them had heated up.

  “Fire back at them,” Danna shouted.

  He slithered forward around the end of the sofa and spotted one of the men firing at them. He pushed the gun out from behind their hiding place, pointed it in the man’s general direction and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He drew the pistol back in and looked at it. Was it defective? He hadn’t bothered to check and didn’t really know anything about pistols to know if it worked or not.

  Grabbing it out of his hand, Danna pulled the slide back, chambering a bullet, flipped a lever on the side of the pistol and handed it back to him. He pushed the pistol back around the corner and fired. It thundered and recoiled in his hand. Without aiming or caring where he was shooting, he continued squeezing the trigger until the weapon was empty. Ironically, that also coincided with the hail of bullets ceasing to whistle over their heads. Had he shot the man or men shooting at him?

  Moments later, he heard shouting and gunfire, but it was not coming in their direction. Kapnos had arrived. He started to stand up; assuming that he was probably safe, but Danna stopped him.

  “Just stay put,” she said. “They’ll come to us when things are clear.”

  “You seem to have been through this sort of thing before,” he replied in a whisper.

  Danna shrugged.

  A few moments later, they heard the sound of boots coming through the house and a moment later, he saw boots stop a few feet in front of him and heard Kapnos’ voice. “Emptied your magazine at them, huh, Ed?”

  “I just fired the pistol until it ran out of bullets,” Edwin replied.

  “They always say, ‘Where there’s lead in the air, there’s danger’,” Kapnos laughed. “I think you might have winged one of them. Come on, let me help you up.”

  Edwin grabbed onto the strong hand of Kapnos and allowed the man to haul him to his feet. Behind the chair a few feet away, he saw the lifeless body of Tryfonas.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Whether or not there was evil in the box, Edwin decided, there was certainly evil all around it, even the boxes that were copied. Every time they were around one of the boxes, someone died. That couldn’t have been by coincidence.

  Edwin had gotten to his feet, spent a moment staring at the body of Tryfonas and then turned just in time to see Danna placing the box back on the hearth.

  “Tryfonas is dead,” he whispered.

  “Yeah,” she said without feeling.

  Edwin wasn’t sure how to respond to her cold manner. Even when he’d been hurt by someone, he didn’t think he would ever be able to be so unemotional about their death. He had known Tryfonas about ten minutes and the man’s death disturbed him.

/>   “You okay?” he asked, hoping that she’d turn to face him so that he could read her eyes.

  She didn’t turn. “I’m alright.”

  He watched her silently for a moment as she ran her fingers over the golden hinges and hasp of the box. Her silence was disturbing to him. He had to do something to try and break it.

  “Well, at least they didn’t get the box,” he commented.

  “It wouldn’t have mattered if they had,” Danna responded. “Another fake.” She flipped up the hasp and opened the lid.

  Edwin took several steps forward so that he could peer inside the open box. Inside, were about a dozen plastic bags of a white, powdery substance, some of which was spilling out of some of them due to bullet holes.

  “What do you think that is?” Edwin asked.

  “More lies,” Danna replied.

  “My guess is heroin,” Kapnos responded, stepping up beside them and looking down into the box, just in time to hear Edwin’s question.

  Though Edwin heard his response, the one that struck him the hardest was the one that had come from Danna. He went back through the conversation that had taken place before gunfire erupted. It instantly dawned on him why she hadn’t been willing to deal with him and had shut him down so coldly.

  “You knew, didn’t you?” he asked.

  “It was a little too heavy to be filled with spirits,” she replied. “Even evil ones.”

  “Some would argue that there are a couple thousand evil spirits waiting inside that powder,” Kapnos interrupted.

  The man had a point, but Edwin was more concerned with the way that Danna was acting. He was beginning to form a picture of lies and betrayal that made his own heartache. Her coldness toward that lifeless body behind the chair hid a much deeper, secret pain.